Changes proposed to shellfish aquaculture regulations

With an eye toward increasing shellfish aquaculture participation and production in the Inland Bays, the state will host a public hearing Tuesday, March 25, on proposed changes to state code related to shellfish aquaculture.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control issued a notice for the public hearing March 4. The proposed changes come from the work done by the Shellfish Aquaculture Task Force, which was created by the General Assembly last year and charged with examining all aspects of the program.

Specifically, the proposed amendments reduce the annual planting requirement from 100,000 to 50,000 shellfish per leased acre, but they also reduce the time period before a new lessee must meet the minimum planting requirement from 60 to 36 months. As proposed, the amendments also reduce the time before a new lessee must harvest 2,000 oysters or 5,000 clams per leased acre, decreasing the deadline from 72 to 48 months.

The proposed amendments also remove a marking requirement for individual gear that is attached to a line suspended between poles no more than 10 feet apart.

Finally, the proposed amendments remove import permitting requirements from in-state hatcheries that meet shellfish disease-control qualifications.

Inland Bays aquaculture statistics

There used to be a thriving shellfish industry in Delaware’s Inland Bays in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, but overharvesting and disease wiped out much of the populations. The situation got worse in the years following, when water quality decreased due to pollution from outfalls and development.

In an effort to revitalize the environment and the industry, legislation was signed in August 2013 creating a commercial shellfish aquaculture industry in the Inland Bays. Five years later, in early 2018, the first aquaculturists put cages in the water. For various reasons – regulations, lack of a commercial facility – the industry has been struggling to take hold ever since.

According to the Delaware Shellfish Aquaculture report for 2023, released in July 2024 by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, at the end of 2023, there were 21 acres leased in the Inland Bays for shellfish aquaculture, and 1 acre under application. All of the leased acreage was within the Rehoboth Bay shellfish aquaculture development areas. DNREC does not limit leasing to shellfish aquaculture development areas, but the permitting process is expedited for applicants in those areas.

There were 11 leases in the Inland Bays at the end of calendar year 2023. Ten of those leases were commercial leases; one lease was a scientific lease.

In 2023, there were 1,686,600 oysters commercially planted on shellfish aquaculture leases in Rehoboth Bay. This was an increase of 86,600 oysters from the 2022 commercial planting. All oysters were placed in gear. Lessees reported using a variety of gear types for oyster culture, including floating bags/baskets, floating cages and bottom cages.

The 2023 reported oyster harvest was 278,158, and gross oyster sales totaled $236,793.17.

Hard clam culture is permitted on leases in Little Assawoman Bay. At the end of 2023, there were no leased acres within that area.

Information on making public comments 

The hearing record on the proposed changes is open and comments will be accepted until the close of business Wednesday, April 9. The virtual public hearing will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 25. The web link to the virtual hearing can be accessed at dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/public-hearings.

The proposed amendments are available for review at regulations.delaware.gov/services/current_issue.shtml, or in person, by appointment only, by calling 302-739-9914 or by emailing john.clark@delaware.gov.

Comments will be accepted in written form by email to DNREChearingcomments@delaware.gov, through the online form at de.gov/dnreccomments, or by U.S. mail to: Theresa Newman, Hearing Officer, DNREC – Office of the Secretary, 89 Kings Hwy., Dover, DE 19901.